Advent-peace

There seems to be a lot of flurry (again!) about what greeting is 'correct' at this time of year. Some Christians are (again!) up in arms trying to make sure people are saying 'Merry Christmas', not 'Happy Holidays', or 'Season's Greetings' or 'Will that be on your credit card?'

I figure a great compromise is 'Peace on earth'.
It's Biblical.
It is the wish of Christians and non-Christians alike.
In fact, even war-mongers and peace-mongers would both likely rather have peace (I hope!).
Plus the fact that this is the original greeting used about the birth of Jesus, long before today's consumer-driven extravaganza came into existence.
Double plus the concept that the coming of Christ was to bring peace between God and His creation. To reinstate the relationship He intended all along.

Fighting over what greeting you use isn't exactly promoting peace.
Fighting over who has to host the family get-together isn't promoting peace.
Trying to talk your parents into going into even greater debt than usual in order to buy you the latest _______ isn't promoting peace in your family.
In fact, there's a lot about our typical celebration of Christmas that isn't very peaceable.

How can we change that?
How about choosing to do something as a family that will help someone less fortunate—drill a well in Africa, sponsor a child in Thailand, bring Christmas dinner to a family in need in your own neighborhood?
Research the involvement of your nation in a war on foreign soil. Honestly figure out if it is something you want to support or not. And then let your elected representatives know how you feel. (You might think the fact that I am including this idea in a post about 'peace' reveals a bit of my personal bias on this—Who knows? But even if you feel it is right to support a war in Afghanistan, for example, consider it in the light of how to ultimately promote 'peace on earth'.)

Think closer to home. Think of an issue that raises lots of public conflict in your city. Think of ways to promote peace, resolution, agreement.
Get really close to home. Work to bring peace into your relationships. Estranged family members, ex-spouses or other sticky situations. You may only be able to choose to not fight anymore, but removing one of the combatants usually cools down the war considerably.

Maybe the situation you face (personally, civically, nationally) is one that you feel requires more passion, not less. Maybe it is right that you should stand up and be counted. Maybe being peaceable is the last thing you should do. Maybe you need to get down and dirty and join a peace march. Or a march against some other social ill that really stirs you up. Or pick a fight with city hall.
Guess what. Jesus did that too. The Prince of Peace really stirred things up in the temple.
I think you can probably figure out how you can be a 'person of peace' and yet be an activist if that is appropriate.
Peace needs to go hand in hand with love and justice. They really aren't mutually exclusive. They are all segments of an integrated life.

Looking for feedback

This post is to get some feedback from my readers.
Do you read my blog directly from my blogger site (Does it show the sculpture of the thinker at the top?)
Do you check randomly, or are you signed up as a 'follower'?
Do you read it on Facebook when it posts to my wall?
Do you check it out on Blogger when I notify of a new post on my Facebook status?
Do you follow on Facebook's Networked blogs?

I'm trying to figure out which works best, which looks the best, and how best to reach my millions of fans! OK, not millions--but I have reached the grand sum of 12 disciples followers on blogger, so perhaps I can be satisfied--after all, Jesus only had 12 disciples!

I've been on Facebook's Networked blogs for awhile, but can't really see the benefit. I supposedly have 6 followers, but can't even find out who they are.

I have Blogger feeding to my Facebook Notes page, but perhaps using Facebook's Network blogs would work/look better. Any comments from anyone who already uses Networked blogs?

I tend to format with Blogger in mind, rather than Facebook, since Facebook basically has no formatting.

Perhaps I should consider using Wordpress or Typepad, although I don't know how much work might be involved in switching over from Blogger. I like some of the features on the others, but .....
Any comments would be helpful.
Speaking of comments, I find that some people comment on the Blogger site, others comment on the Facebook page, and there is no cross-pollination between the two. For that reason, I am tempted to use only Blogger, and stop the direct feed to Facebook. That way, I could post notifications on Facebook, but all comments would (hopefully) be kept together.
Any thoughts?

Twenty years ago today

Twenty years ago today Canada's worst mass shooting occurred. 14 women died at the hand of a gunman whose violence was directly targeted against women at the Universite de Montreal’s Ecole polytechnique. You can read more about it here.
As a result, this day has been declared Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.
With this post I want to remember 14 women, varying in age from 21 to 31 who did not choose to be martyrs, but had their lives cut short simply because they were women who ended up in harm's way.
Today they would have been from 41 to 51 years of age, in the prime of their lives, careers, and families.
These biographies are taken directly from a CBC story.
Geneviève Bergeron was a second-year scholarship student in mechanical engineering. She played the clarinet and sang in a professional choir. In her spare time she played basketball and swam.
Helene Colgan was in her final year of mechanical engineering and planned to do her master's degree. She had three job offers and was leaning toward accepting one from a company based near Toronto.
Nathalie Croteau was another graduating mechanical engineer. She planned to take a two-week vacation in Cancun, Mexico, with Colgan at the end of the month.
Barbara Daigneault was expecting to graduate at the end of the year. She was a teaching assistant for her father Pierre Daigneault, a mechanical engineering professor with the city's other French-language engineering school at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Anne-Marie Edward, a chemical engineering student, loved outdoor sports like skiing and diving, and was always surrounded by friends.
Maud Haviernick was a second-year student in metallurgical engineering, and a graduate in environmental design from the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz was a first-year nursing student. She arrived in Montreal from Poland with her husband in 1987.
Maryse Laganière was the only non-student killed. She worked in the engineering school's budget department. She had recently married.
Maryse Leclair was in fourth-year metallurgy, had a year to go before graduation and was one of the top students in the school. She acted in plays in junior college. She was the first victim whose name was known, and she was found by her father, Montreal police Lt. Pierre Leclair.
Anne-Marie Lemay was in fourth-year mechanical engineering.
Sonia Pelletier was the head of her class and the pride of St-Ulric, Que., her remote birthplace in the Gaspé Peninsula. She had five sisters and two brothers. She was killed the day before she was to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering. She had a job interview lined up for the following week.
Michèle Richard was in second-year metallurgical engineering. She was presenting a paper with Haviernick when she was killed.
Annie St-Arneault was a mechanical engineering student from La Tuque, Que., a Laurentian pulp and paper town in the upper St-Maurice river valley. She lived in a small apartment in Montreal. She was killed as she sat listening to a presentation in her last class before graduation. She had a job interview with Alcan Aluminium scheduled for the following day. She had talked about eventually getting married to the man who had been her boyfriend since she was a teenager.
Annie Turcotte was in her first year and lived with her brother in a small apartment near the university. She was described as gentle and athletic, enjoying diving and swimming. She went into metallurgical engineering so she could one day help improve the environment.

Remember them today, and work and pray that it never happens again.
Saying anything more would take away from the point of this post.

Advent-prepare

If Advent is the season of expectation and waiting, then preparation is involved.
John the Baptist was God's Advent messenger for the coming of Christ. Matthew 3 tells us of this strangely dressed man with an even stranger diet who quoted the prophet Isaiah, and ranted about the Jewish leaders who were missing the point about actually preparing for the Messiah's kingdom.
We soon get the message that he was calling for an internal preparation, a reordering of priorities. To start doing things that would ultimately make it easier for God's kingdom to come. To begin to recognize the individual changes necessary for the kingdom to take root. To take one step towards God so that they would be ready to walk with Him.
John's call to repentance (turn around) was scary enough. Christ's declaration that the kingdom had arrived was potentially life altering. It's one thing to try to point your life in a new direction. It's another thing to surrender your independance to a new King.
Now I'm not saying we can or have to clean ourselves up a bit so that we can go have a bath. The idea of preparation that John's preaching brings is to make the first step towards following this new King. To turn around. To change your mindset. To watch and follow.
As we again contemplate that Christ came to bring His kingdom, let us recognize its' coming by taking a step in the right direction. Following Christ involves following. A step towards Him starts this lifelong journey with Him.
One final thought about preparation. Isaiah invites us to “Prepare for GOD's arrival! Make the road straight and smooth, a highway fit for our God.” Is 40:3, The Message). To me that says: “Make it easier for other people to get to know God.” Not only are WE to prepare to follow Christ, but we should help (not hinder) OTHERS from following Him as well.

CARTS

Last night was another evening out on the street with CARTS. CARTS is a 'backronym' for 'Christian Actions Reflecting The Spirit'. Since we walk around the streets of downtown Victoria pulling a few sturdy garden carts, CARTS is a good name for us.
These carts are loaded with hot chocolate, sandwiches, fruit, pastries, homemade cookies, blankets, jackets and other warm clothing, socks, underwear, toques and scarves, and other necessities of life.
Over the period of about 3 hours every Friday, we meet and help about 200 people in various positions of need. All of them receive love, and whatever we have that we can share with them.
For most people, it's not the excitement of getting a peanut butter and jam sandwich that brings them around every week. It's the love expressed in the smiles, the hugs, the words, the genuineness. It's knowing that our volunteers are out in any weather because we want to be there. We've never missed a night, and this year we're looking forward to being able to be out on Christmas Day. That is going to be such fun!
Last night we probably had a record number of volunteers. 29. We had so many that 3 or 4 had nothing specific to do except walk and talk. We had at least 4 new volunteers who joined us for the first time, while many of us have been doing this for several years.
We have the greatest caliber and variety of volunteers—and this includes the many who are involved behind the scenes who never join us on the street.
The faithful teams that make the sandwiches every week.
Those who make our famous CARTS chocolate chip cookies. They are huge, tasty, and include the secret ingredient—love.
The lady who faithfully goes to Starbucks for their day-old pastries, and wraps them for distribution.
The little old ladies who knit scarves and toques.
The people who regularly cull their closets for good used clothing and blankets.
The businesses and individuals who faithfully share financially with us, and the businesses who donate day old food items.
The school kids who collect and donate the proceeds from drink containers.
The church ladies group who stuffed 91 socks with personal hygiene items for us to give out this Christmas.
It's a never ending list.
Many items are donated, some are purchased with the cash donations. But there are the regular volunteers who not only join us in distributing everything, but who out of their own pockets buy special treats.
The young man who buys and gives away at least 100 full-size chocolate bars every night he joins us.
The lady who makes incredible home-made fudge, wraps it and gladdens the hearts of those who ask: “Is the fudge lady here?”
The lady who once a month makes about 180 of our famous CARTS cookies. Other nights usually have several people making a batch or two, but she does one whole night herself.
A young couple who give out the little Halloween-sized treats.
The guys with muscles who pull the heavily-loaded carts.
The guys and gals who give out the clothing items with grace and flare. It's almost as much fun as going to a boutique!

But I've saved the best until last. The two faithful ladies who started CARTS nearly 7 years ago (the two ladies pictured here). Two sisters with a vision for interacting with people face-to-face, on their level. Bringing joy, love and food to those in greatest need. Not worried about a little dirt or grime. Not deterred by the roughness of the street culture. Not scared by the unpredictability of someone on drugs. Just being angels of mercy. Rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep.
I'm so glad I connected with CARTS a few years ago and am able to be a part of this wonderful expression of God's heart for people. Sunday morning church is nothing compared to this loving act of worship for the One who encourages us to give a cup of cold water in His name.

More thoughts on the five R's

Here are some more parallels between home and Church renovations.

One of the HGTV shows I have watched is about 'unsellable' homes. A house is listed for sale, but no one seems to be interested. The homeowner thinks the house is great as it is, but in reality it is dated, has projects that need finishing or the outside needs some serious curb appeal before anyone will put in an offer.
Pretty much any of the shows on home renovations demonstrate that a reno usually goes over budget—and I'm not just talking a couple percent. There are usually problems that aren't visible until you start getting down to the basics—bad wiring or plumbing, mold and rot, or structural/foundation issues. It seems that nothing is ever simple. And the big renos are even worse. The more you want to do, the more you are going to blow your budget.
It's not only money that you run out of in a reno project. It usually takes longer than you expect. Many of the shows like to give themselves a deadline—and then have to rush like mad to get it done on time. (Personally, I'd rather see it take more time, and be done well, but I guess that isn't suspenseful enough for TV.)
Another thing I've noticed is that our tastes and desires are always bigger than what we are willing to pay. People out shopping for a home have high hopes and dreams for the latest style, everything in top shape, and exactly the design they want. But something like that in their preferred location is going to cost them a lot more than they can afford. They give their real estate agent their wish list and budget, and the agent tries to find something. Then the prospective buyers pick apart the possibilities, and complain about the price. It often seems that the reality check goes right over their heads.
The lessons for the Church from this are obvious enough to not need any interpretation.

Retain, redecorate, renovate, reconstruct, replace

There comes a time in every homeowner's life....that you think about doing something to spruce up the place. For some reason I like watching HGTV, the Home & Garden channel. There are lots of shows about new home buyers, trying to sell your home, renovating, decorating, etc.
OK. Let's assume you are wondering if you should do something to fix up your house.
You might think it is just perfect the way it is. You wouldn't change a thing. Retain.
You might decide to paint a few rooms, change a carpet, or get new drapes. Redecorate.
You might decide to knock down a wall, put in another bathroom, or turn the garage into an in-law suite. Renovate.
You might decide to rip off the roof and build another floor, gut the interior, move the kitchen to the back, and add two more bedrooms, or perhaps raise the whole house and build a new foundation. Reconstruct.
You might decide you like the location, but need to completely destroy the house and build a new one from scratch. Replace.
It all depends on how much work you think is necessary. How much is wrong with what you have. How to make your house more useful, more of what you need it to be. How much of what you have is worth saving. How solid what you have is, and how much it can stand major work.

Most of us recognize that the Church needs some work. It isn't showing it's age as well as we might hope. It isn't quite as practical or useful as it once was. There seems to be some rot in one corner, and we aren't sure how deep the problem is. There are a couple rooms that just don't get much use anymore, while another one could sure use some enlarging.
I guess the issue is the same as fixing the house.
How much work is necessary?
How serious are the things that are wrong?
What will it take to make it more usable?
How much is worth saving?
How solid is it, can it stand the amount of change necessary, or does it basically need to be torn down and completely rebuilt?
I think the difference between the positions taken by different people on the state of the church comes from their answers to the previous questions.
Some people think it is as close to perfect as you can imagine. The preacher is fine, the style is fine, the atmosphere is fine, the attendance is fine. Retain.
Some see that a couple minor changes will be all it takes to bring the church up to speed. Perhaps an adjustment to the music, or adding a new youth program. Redecorate (figuratively).
Others are ready for something a bit more strenuous. Ditch the liturgy (or bring it back). Start meeting on Saturday nights instead of Sunday mornings. Ditch the pulpit and pews, and put in round tables and sit the people around them in small discussion groups. Fire up a few candles. Renovate.
Still others think all of that is small potatoes. Sell the building. Eliminate the pastor. Meet in coffee shops or pubs, open a soup kitchen, live in a communal house. Welcome and affirm everyone. Reconstruct.
A few brave souls even want to go further. Reconsider the Bible more as literature and less as a question and answer book. Rethink salvation and grace. Question things considered fundamental like sin, hell, the sovereignty of God. Rebuild.
I'll bet that any of you that consider yourself a follower of Christ can see yourself in one of these categories. Anything less drastic doesn't seem like enough, anything more seems like heresy.
And therein lies the rub within Christendom.
There is something worth salvaging about this group of ragtag imitators of Christ. We just can't agree on how much.
There is a chunk of the foundation that is solid enough to build on. We just aren't sure how big that chunk is.
And if we figure out how deep to carve away, we still won't agree on what the new finished product should look like. Or how soon we will probably have to do it again.
I really appreciate the conversation these days about all of this. It encourages my heart and gives me hope. But also almost drives me to distraction sometimes.
God help us!